Visibility and colour

[David Stepney]

Is ‘OW’ what a cyclist says when run over by an Austin Seven?

[JohnD]

Several years ago [almost 20 - where has that time went] we were rear ended in the GE Cup model on a dual carrage way - the driver of the Corsa said "Sorry i didnt see you, you just appeared" Lucky damage was minimal and the car repaired

A few years later a friend was leaving a classic car rally, and said similar happened to him - away in the distance he could see a vintage car, and before he knew it, he was rght behind it - he was in a mk1 transit towing a trailer, and so not going to fast - but he said the small size of the seven, made it appear further away.

A new style Fiat 500 is larger than a Series two Land rover - i could park the Landrover in the garage, but not the Fiat
A VW UP is also larger than a Mk2 Escort !

Bright colours, Flashing lights etc all help to aid visability, but i think the over all proportion of the car is the problem and create the illusion of a false distance.

[Dave Wortley]

Sounds a little like Father Ted explaining to Father Dougal about near (big) further away (small).

[Reckless Rat]

If I'm going anywhere I tend to fix an orange wiggly reflector on the back of the car - they're meant for cyclists so that cars give them a wider berth, but it seems to work well enough on the Austin. I just strap it on the luggage rack with a couple of cable ties. (You'd need it on the other side in the UK)

[Hugh Barnes]

I’ve seen a similar approach with a simple blown up balloon tied to the spare wheel. Surprisingly effective..

[Duncan Grimmond]

Double reflection in that pic, one from the polished wing and a secondary from the polished pate ;-). I can't get my bald patch to shine up like that! Turtle wax? Starbright's Pomade?

[Reckless Rat]

It's a solar panel for a sex machine, apparently. Mine has fused.

[Steve Bryant]

Years ago my Mum had a classic Mini that was apparently "hard to see". We cured the problem by attaching a bicycle aerial and flag to the outside edge of the rear bumper. This fluttering flag always caught the attention of those behind the car on the road. It had a secondary benefit that you could spot the flag when the car was parked among larger cars hiding the Mini from view.

I think fitting one of these to a seven might be an answer to the problem of grabbing the following drivers attention on the road.
Stephen

  istockphoto-452578527-612x612.jpg (Size: 22.5 KB / Downloads: 163)

[Reckless Rat]

I had a big aerial like that on my Lambretta - it had an Esso tiger's tail on the end.

[Denis Sweeney]

My brothers had the Lambretta an Vespa, all I managed was the authentic parka with the RAF roundel on the back, had that for many years till wifey decided I didn’t need it any more☹️